The Paris Embassy ― British Ambassadors and Anglo-french Relations 1944?9

Few themes in post-war British foreign policy feature more prominently than relations with the European Union, which themselves have been shaped, to a large extent, by relations with France. Yet, most accounts of bilateral relations between these two countries focus either on background factors to the relationship, or else on contacts at the highest level, between presidents and prime ministers. It is easy to overlook the importance of the resident embassy as the institution that handles day-to-day contacts between them. This collection of essays charts and analyses the activities of British Ambassadors in Paris, from the Second World War to the advent of Margaret Thatcher's government. It combines an examination of policy with a consideration of the role of individual envoys and provides a case study of the significance of the permanent mission to modern diplomatic practice.

Rogelia Pastor-Castro is Lecturer in International History at the University of Strathclyde, UK. Her main area of expertise is Anglo-French relations since 1945, with particular focus on European security and integration. She has written on diplomacy and French foreign policy and has published on the European Defence Community.

John W. Young is Professor of International History at the University of Nottingham, UK, and Chair of the British International History Group. His recent publications include Twentieth Century Diplomacy: a case study in British practice, 1963-76 (2008) and, with Michael Hopkins and Saul Kelly, co-editor of The Washington Embassy: British ambassadors to the United States, 1939-77 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).